


The Machina Files

by RiBread



Category: Critical Role (Web Series), The Dresden Files - Jim Butcher
Genre: (it's Tiberius), Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Canonical Character Death, Crossover, Found Family, Gen, Harry Dresden is mine now and he Respects Women, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Jim Butcher learn to write women challenge, Team as Family, Vox Machina are teens/young adults here
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-10
Updated: 2020-09-10
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:55:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,567
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26384500
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RiBread/pseuds/RiBread
Summary: The Dresden Files/ Critical Role crossover no one asked for. Also I somehow managed to turn this into Percy angst halfway through, because I'm predictable."I first heard about them on the Paranet-- a group of seven or eight kids calling themselves Vox Machina. The only reason I even got that much was Murph. Bob hadn’t heard anything, and Elaine only had rumors at first, nothing more than I could find. Apparently a lot of their work was on the internet, thanks to a few members in their little group with small enough gifts to be able to handle technology. Luckily, Murphy keeps an ear to the ground for me, especially with anything that might come up as warden business. After all, the best way to avoid having to see another kid killed is to find them before they do anything stupid..."
Comments: 10
Kudos: 34





	1. Chapter 1

I first heard about them on the Paranet-- a group of seven or eight kids calling themselves Vox Machina. The only reason I even got that much was Murph. Bob hadn’t heard anything, and Elaine only had rumors at first, nothing more than I could find. Apparently a lot of their work was on the internet, thanks to a few members in their little group with small enough gifts to be able to handle technology. Luckily, Murphy keeps an ear to the ground for me, especially with anything that might come up as warden business. After all, the best way to avoid having to see another kid killed is to find them before they do anything stupid. 

From what Murphy could gather, the oldest one was also the loudest and easiest to get on camera-- a short fella who gave different names anytime you asked. The interwebs apparently called him “The Meat Man.” He was maybe in his mid 30s, near as Murph and I could tell, and the others only got younger. Just looking at the blurry printouts Murphy had brought me, I could see that. I held one of the pictures out to Mouse, in the foreground a blurred image of a boy with almost white hair and what looked to be a large gun in his hand. I would have liked his style, if he hadn’t looked so damn young. The smoke curling around him was odd, too. Sure, it could have been from the gun or from magic frying the security cams, but it made my skin crawl all the same.

“What do you think? Warlock in the making?”

Mouse just sighed, leaning his mammoth head against my leg. I nodded, taking his sage advice into account.

“I know, I know. No reason to give up just yet. Just ‘cause it looks like dark magic, walks like dark magic, and quacks like dark magic…” I trailed off as I felt one of my keys pass the wards, and a moment later the heavy door to the apartment squealed open, sticking in the frame as usual. Damn zombies. I turned my attention to the two figures as they entered-- Molly, my now bright purple haired apprentice, and Murphy, standing almost a foot shorter. My enormous cat, Mister, hurdled towards them at mach speeds, and Murphy caught him with ease, keeping her balance in the doorway with a strong martial arts stance as the cat barrelled into her kneecaps. Murph gestured at Molly with her free hand, shoving the door closed behind them with the other.

“She did great, Harry. I think we have some more info. Has Elaine found anything yet? They’re supposed to be her side of the country.”

“Not yet,” I replied, pushing Mouse off my lap and heading for the kitchen. “--Beer?” Murphy nodded, so I grabbed two beers, and a water for Molly. “She said she wanted to feel it out first. No sense spooking the kids, or accidentally getting the Wardens involved before they need to be. I trust Carlos, but he’s an honest guy and he has a job to do.”

“So you think they’re a threat?” Murphy accepted the beer and deftly popped it open. I shrugged.

“I kinda think everything’s a threat, Murph. It’s why I’m still alive.”

“Fair enough.” Murphy pulled a manilla folder from under her jacket, and slid it across the coffee table to me. “So, here’s what we have. I think we have names to put to faces for most of them, although a few were a bit more elusive.”

I pulled out the first paper. This one was adorned with a shockingly clear photo of the oldest member, something I could only have taken with some sort of ward up. It almost looked like a professional headshot for a theater or something— the guy certainly looked theatrical, with his obnoxiously purple silk shirt nearly half unbuttoned, and his long hair was as meticulously styled as some of the men I’d seen working in the salon with my brother “Toe-moss.” Nothing about him was overtly magical, and his glittering smile aimed at the camera might’ve seemed carefree at first glance, but despite everything he gave the overall impression of perfectly controlled power, and lots of it. He reminded me of Molly, in a way, and if I was right he certainly had the control to keep from frying the camera. Murphy gave me the lowdown. 

“On the paranet, he insists on being called The Meat Man. He also sometimes uses Burt Reynolds, but I don’t think that’s his real name either. We found this photo by matching the description and images we had to a program bio from some community theater out in Arizona. The name listed there was Scanlan Shorthalt. There was also a Kaylie Shorthalt listed in the program, someone on the crew, but we couldn’t match her to any of the other members of Vox Machina.”

“His wife?”

“I think she’s younger, but it’s hard to tell. Maybe a niece or daughter.” 

“Ok. But she’s not involved.”

“Well, we don’t think so. I’m not ruling anything out, but the main seven don’t seem to include anyone else who could be related to Shorthalt here. Take a look.”

I pulled out the next two pages, these ones paperclipped together with just one picture. It showed two almost identical young adults, male and female, maybe in their early 20s. Both had long, dark, hair and olive skin. Their arms were thrown around each other. The girl’s hair was braided, with what looked like a couple blue feathers tucked behind one ear. The boy was dressed in all black, and both wore leather jackets that I couldn’t help but respect. The picture was a bit fuzzy, though not nearly as bad as you’d expect if their magic was very strong, and I could make out just a few arcane symbols on some of their jewelry. Nothing extremely powerful, but I took note.

“Vax’ildan and Vex’ahlia.” Murphy pointed first to the boy, then the girl. “Couldn’t find a last name for either of them, but they’re twins. There wasn’t much more information on them, except that Vax’ildan has been in and out of trouble with the law. Petty thievery and breaking and entering, mostly.”

I set aside the docket on the twins and picked up the next one. Immediately, I grinned.

“Hey, she looks like you, Murph!” The image was of a very short woman with blonde hair so pale it was almost white, a button nose, and bright blue eyes. Despite her small stature, she was clearly made of muscle, and smiled brightly at the camera. Her picture was the blurriest so far, but clear enough to make out a scar that stretched the warm brown skin across one side of her face, cutting through the eyebrow and continuing onto her cheek. Unconsciously, I touched the scar on my face that practically mirrored the woman’s. It was hard to guess an age from the photo, but she couldn’t be much over 30. 

“This is Dr. Pike Trickfoot. She’s maybe the best documented of any of them we could find. She doesn’t hide her name at all, and lots of netters in the area recognized her as a pretty well known practitioner. Used to work at a hospital, but apparently went into private practice at a church in the area, helping her grandfather. He’s apparently a low level practitioner too. No one was quite sure why she left the hospital, apparently she’s a very talented surgeon.”

“I bet I know why.” I pointed to the grainy photo. “This is the blurriest picture so far. My guess is she started developing her magic, whether intentionally or not, and the machines started going haywire around her. Same reason I don’t like to go into hospitals much. What if I break someone’s life support?” Murphy nodded, making a quick note in the book she carried with her. I flipped to the next page, this one also paper clipped to Pike’s. The difference in the pictures couldn’t have been more extreme. This one showed a huge man, at least my height but probably three times as muscular. His skin was a few shades paler than pike’s, and covered in heavy black tattoos. He sported a bald head, a thick beard, and a gap toothed smile that belied his age. He was clearly pretty young, early 20s, if not younger. His sheer size made it a bit hard to tell. I frowned, wondering if there was fae heritage somewhere in there- he reminded me a bit of Meryl, a part ogre changeling I’d known years ago. His picture was fairly clear, and I guessed he probably didn’t have much magic. If not a changeling, I pegged him as similar to Billy and the gang-- probably had one good trick that would help him in a fight, but not much else. 

“His name is Grog Strongjaw, if you can believe that, and he was adopted as a kid by Pike’s grandfather. The two of them grew up together.” Murphy paused, before reaching for the next paper. “Now… this one, I think you’ll really want to see.”

If I’d thought Pike’s picture was blurry, this next picture was almost shocking. It looked like something that might have been taken of me as a teen, when my raw power was overflowing into practically everything I did. Pike had clearly been in control of her power, but just powerful enough to fuck with newer digital cameras anyway. This one was not only a huge power difference, but a huge difference in control. 

The picture was of a girl, much younger than any of the others I’d seen so far. Maybe even still in her teens. My heart pulled a little bit as I looked at the photo-- even through the grainy shot, there was an undeniable resemblance to Molly, or a young Elaine. The girl was a freckled redhead, skin a shade too dark to be called white, with a vulnerable expression that made me want to protect her and a sheer volume of power that almost frightened me. Molly had always been powerful, but better at the subtler magics, and evocation had never been her strong suit. This girl reminded me of ME, and that meant raw, explosive energy, ready to spill out and hurt anyone who got too close to the blast. She was just the type the wardens would pounce on, no questions asked, if anything even LOOKED like it was going to go wrong.

“Again, no last name for this one. Her name is Keyleth, and she comes from a native american tribe that lives to the southwest called the Ashari. We don’t know much else about her, just that she seems to have been travelling.”

“And know we know she’s powerful,” I mused. “She reminds me of me at that age.” 

Molly frowned at me across the table. I ignored her for now, but I resolved to explain a bit later. “I want to meet this Keyleth. I’d like to talk to all of them, actually.”

“Well, there’s one more member, plus that mystery eighth person. And then we’ll just have to wait for Elaine to get back to you with details on their location, and if she can set up a meeting.” Murphy pulled out the last page from the folder. This docket was almost blank, and she shrugged as she handed it over. “We found almost nothing on this one, despite him throwing the longest name I’ve ever heard around wherever he goes. It seemed like any information on the internet had been erased. There were just… gaps, when it came to him.”

“He throws around his full name? Is he TRYING to get his soul taken by some nevernever freak? Please tell me he at least fakes part of it.” 

“I guess it might not be his full name, but it’s damn long either way. And I don’t know why you’d make up a name like…” Murphy glanced down at the docket once more, stumbling through the syllables of the name. “Percival von Musel Klo… Klossowski De Rolo the Third?”  
“Hells Bells.”

“No kidding. And it gets weirder. I couldn’t find his name anywhere, but just looking for De Rolo eventually got me something. Apparently the De Rolos were a powerful family in northern England. Whitestone, the city they lived in, had a lot of trade with South America. About five years ago, there was some kind of sickness that got brought over on the boat with some diplomats, and the whole family died. Some family friends took over, but again, it’s all a political blank other than that.”

“Okay, that’s... weird. What’s the kicker?”

“Well, the main place Whitestone traded with used to be Honduras. Specifically, a house called Wildemount. I did some digging, and Wildemount is the ruling house that took over… after Casaverde was destroyed.”

“Hells bells, Murph.” I shook my head. “I don’t like it. That’s a big jump to take, but with the way things are with the red court? Nothing would shock me here. I don’t like that kind of coincidence.” I polished off my beer in one final swig, then turned back to the docket. “You think this kid is related to those De Rolos?” 

“No idea. Whether he is or not, there’s got to be a reason he’s throwing the name around. If it were me, I’d say he’s putting out feelers, maybe trying to get some sort of information about what happened. Damn dangerous way to do it, though.”

The picture included with this docket was almost the same as the printout Murphy had given me before. The other members of the team had been cropped out, and there was just the slightly smokey image of the boy with the gun. A teenager, probably about the same age as the redhead. The picture was clearer, zoomed and enhanced, and I could make out glasses on his nose and a long blue coat stretching to his ankles. I could also see an oddly elongated mask slung around his neck, a beaked number with glass lenses like something you’d see in the pictures of plague doctors in a history textbook.

Finally, I turned to the last page. This one was just a group picture, with one person circled in the foreground, and a name. The young man who’d been circled was very clearly doing magic, and a lot of it. The level of interference was possibly more than it had been with Keyleth, probably because this picture captured someone actively casting a spell. It was almost impossible to make out any features, except for a reddish tint to his dark skin, and what looked like fire swirling from his palms. There were seven others in the picture, each at least vaguely matching the members of Vox Machina so far.

“Tiberius Stormwind,” Murphy explained, pointing to the pixelated figure. “His name comes up all the time in the earlier parts of the archive, but within the last year or so he just disappeared. He was always involved up till then, giving his name and where he came from-- someplace overseas called Draconia. I think it’s in India somewhere. I found a Stormwind family located there, but no evidence as to anything happening to him. He just stopped appearing in Vox Machina.”

“So he could have just gone back home?”

“Could have.” Murphy shrugged. “Like you say, I think everything could be a threat. We shouldn’t completely rule out anything.”

I turned to Molly, hoping my face didn’t show the anxiety I felt.

“Well, grasshopper, you’d better go home and pack some things. We’re going to need to check this one out, and I want to be ready to go whenever Elaine gets back to me with a location.”

“You want me along?” Molly looked a little nervous, but excited all the same. I hoped that was a good thing.

“Sure! These kids look about your age, and some of them might be getting close to your situation. I don’t want to scare them off and risk anyone doing something stupid. You probably have a better chance of talking to them than I do.” I turned to Murphy. “I don’t suppose you have any time off?”

Murphy shrugged.

“I have a few vacation days lined up. I’ll see what I can do, but you know I won’t be able to go as a cop. This is way out of my jurisdiction.”

“Probably better that way, if any of them have been in trouble with the law. I’d just like to have you around. You’re good at sniffing out information, and I want to be on top of my game in case anything gets out of hand. Plus, at least one of them has a gun.”

“Huh.” Murphy took the photo of the boy back from me, wrinkling her nose. “Doesn’t look like any gun I’ve seen. I’d like to know where he got something like that. That’s no toy, for sure.”

“Better and better.” I sighed. “Stars and stones, Murph, this got complicated fast. I thought Billy and the crew would be my last gang of teenage vigilantes.”

“Well, this is what you set the paranet up for. At least that’s paying off.”

“True enough.” 

Murphy and Molly stood, and I saw them to the door. “Let me know when you’re all packed, grasshopper. I’ll head over and get you as soon as I get word from Elaine and we can open up a Way.”

“Sure, boss.” Molly snapped me a quick salute, and I grinned tiredly. Murphy clasped my arm, briefly, and then the door shut behind them, leaving me staring across the room at my dog.

“Oh, Mouse.” I headed over to pet his tummy obligingly, and sighed, trying not to stare at the phone. “It’s just gonna be another one of those weeks, isn’t it?” Thankfully, the dog gave no answer.


	2. Chapter 2

I didn’t realize I had fallen asleep until the ringing of my old beat up landline woke me. I almost fell off the couch, dislodging Mister and prompting an outraged yowl from His Highness. I groaned and stumbled to the phone, checking my watch as I went. It was just past ten in the evening. I snatched up the phone clumsily and grunted a greeting.

“Harry?”

Elaine. Of course. She was, what… two hours behind me on the west coast? I made an effort to be slightly more polite and awake.

“Yeah, it’s me. Have you found anything.”

“Yes.” She paused. “I found Vox Machina.” 

“Really?” Damn, she was good. “Damn, you’re good,” I said. “I should have asked you about this ages ago.” 

“You’re clearly lost without me.” There was laughter in her voice, but she couldn’t hide a trace of concern. I knew her too well for that. 

“So, where are they? Molly and I can open up a Way and be there… well, we could be there tonight, if needed, but I’d rather not wake up the whole carpenter household this late.”

“In the morning is fine. Their place is just outside LA, a sort of warehouse they call Greyskull. I can meet you where the Way from Chicago opens up and take you to them.”

“Have you talked to them at all?”

Elaine sighed. “A bit. They had heard of us both from the paranet, so they know you’re coming. I told them it was about that curse business they’d been looking into, and that you thought you could lend a hand, maybe teach them something. I figured a half truth was better than them bolting when you showed up unexpectedly.”

“Good thinking. I can work with that. I’m bringing Molly, and Murphy if I can, in an unofficial capacity of course.”

“That’s probably a good thing. They don’t seem too big on authority, which I can understand.”

“Right. Well, thanks as always, Elaine. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Great. Safe journey, Harry.”

She hung up, and I decided to drag my sorry ass to bed rather than pass out on my very comfy couch again and have my back kill me in the morning. God, I sounded old.

The next morning, I grabbed my duffle from the closet and my and Molly’s kits and work bags from the basement, settled the comforting weight of my duster on my shoulders, and hopped in the Blue Beetle to head to the Carpenter’s. When I arrived, Charity was still ushering the younger kids out to the bus stop, and Molly was sitting on the porch railing swinging her legs. She hopped off when she saw me pull up, eyes wide with excitement, and ran inside. I parked and followed. Charity gave me a Look as I passed.

“Good morning, Harry.”

“Good morning.”

“Where are the two of you off to?”

“We got a message on the paranet about a group of kid practitioners in LA. Seems like they’re having some trouble with a curse, so I thought we’d help them out. “

“They’re kids?”

“Most of them.” I paused, stopping to look at her more carefully. Charity was a perceptive woman, so it was worth the time to make sure she got the whole story. It also made it significantly less likely that she would murder me anytime soon. “They haven’t said a whole lot about who they are, and there’s some worrying stuff they’re getting into. I’d rather check up on them myself and make sure they’re ok before some other warden decides to chop first and ask questions later.”

Charity’s face darkened at that, and I kept my face serious. It was a touchy subject for both of us. The difference was I snark when I’m feeling sensitive, and Charity… didn’t always appreciate that about me, to put it lightly. 

“This won’t put Molly in any danger, will it?”

“Not if I have anything to say about it.” I put as much emphasis into my words as possible. “Besides, there’s every possibility that they’re not using any dark magic at all. I just want to head off any suspicion, and make sure they know the laws so they can avoid breaking any. As long as Molly sticks with me, she won’t be exposed to any of it.”

“Good.” Charity turned back towards the bus stop, watching as the smallest children climbed aboard. “I’m trusting you with my daughter, Dresden.”

“I know.”

The door swung open behind us, and I turned to see Michael standing in the doorway with Molly, her own duffle slung over her shoulder. 

“Ready to go, Harry?”

“You bet, padawan. Hop in the car, we still have to drop it at home. Then we can walk to the nearest opening.”

“Aye aye, captain.” 

I waved to Michael as I strode back towards the car, gave a nod to Charity, and we peeled off in style. We didn’t talk much on the way back to where I planned to park the beetle. I recognized Molly’s ritual to get in the right headspace for a mission, so I didn’t interrupt as she breathed quietly and steadily next to me, sorting through her kit to make sure everything was where she liked it. As we stepped out of the car, she slung her bags over her shoulders, slipped her two slim crystal-tipped wands into her sleeves where they would be within reach, and waited for me to grab my bags and staff. My blasting rod already hung in its strap inside my duster, within easy reach if I needed it. I had charged all my bracelets and rings as much as I could the night before, and was trying not to feel like a paranoid wreck with all that magic dangling off of me. I did it before any job, now. Had to teach the padawan how to be prepared for anything. I told myself this wasn’t any different.

The warehouse I usually used to open a Way to LA was somewhat secluded, which was good. Molly and I were able to get there with only a few weird looks, and they were mostly the “Hey, is that godzilla with that purple haired girl?” type of looks rather than anything more sinister or suspicious. I kept my staff tight to my side anyway, to look like less of a threat. As we approached the edge of the district, I spotted murphy lounging against a wall, in civilian clothes, but still wearing a large jacket that I was sure concealed at least 3 small firearms. She nodded to Molly and I as we slipped behind the warehouse, and I held out my pentacle in front of me.

“Aparturum.”

The Way opened, tearing a glowing blue swath through the air in front of us into a familiar dirt path, surrounded by reddish-bronze trees. This was one of the Council’s safe paths, so unless there were any wildfae willing to risk the wrath of summer, the short walk to the next opening should be fairly uneventful. I led Molly and Murph down the twists and turns Elaine and I had agreed upon to get to our meeting point, and opened another portal that stepped out into a street much like the one we’d left 20 minutes ago, only hotter. Molly immediately stripped out of her jacket and tied it around her waist, transferring her wands to the belt loops she had for that purpose. I sighed, already boiling in my heavy leather coat. The things I suffer for the safety of magical armor.

“You really oughta get a lighter magic coat, boss,” Molly said, reading my mind. 

“Hey, I like the duster!” She rolled her eyes.

“I’d say you look like an old west film, but now that I’m here I don’t think anyone in the west wore anything like that. It’s too HOT.” Murphy smirked at me behind Molly’s back, but I noted she had kept her jacket as well. 

“You midwesterners are wimps in the heat. This is early spring.” I turned, recognizing the voice immediately, as well as the mental equivalent of a wave sent my way as she approached.

“Hey, Elaine.” I returned the mental greeting, too. “I seem to remember you were a midwesterner once, too.” She shrugged, looking far more comfortable than I felt in a tank top and tight jeans that fit her long legs well. I recognized the thin silver chain strung from her belt as the odd wand contraption she used, and all her jewelry practically mirrored my own, just more delicate. 

“Sure, but I’ve left that behind me. You get used to the heat pretty quickly, once you have to live out here. And my… time with summer didn’t hurt either.” 

I shot a glance at Molly, but she didn’t seem to be paying attention. She still didn’t know Elaine’s side of our story, and I figured it wasn’t my business to tell her. She didn’t react to what Elaine had said, though, and I fell in step with the three women, following Elaine through the warehouse district we’d landed in. 

Eventually, we approached a larger building, made of grey stone. A young man with dark brown skin and short cropped hair lounged outside the door, and he sat up as we approached. Elaine held out a hand in greeting.

“Hey, Jerret, right? It’s Elaine Mallory from the other day. I brought the people I was talking about.”

“Oh, right.” The young man had a clearly foreign accent, and I didn’t get any sort of magic read from him, though I’d probably have to touch him to be sure. “I’ll go get them.” 

Jarret turned to the big metal door he’d been guarding and knocked quickly, three times. A woman’s voice from within responded within seconds.

“Wards down!”

I reached out gently with my gloved left hand, feeling for the magic. I was surprised to sense a fairly well constructed set of wards, and a surprisingly strong threshold for a building that appeared to be no more than a warehouse. The wards were clearly well controlled, and I felt them go down with very little energy wasted. I had to admit, I was impressed. Next to me, Molly was wide eyed. Her sensitivity to magic had clearly noted the same things I had.

The door opened, and I had to look quite a ways down from Jarret’s lanky form to set eyes on a woman I instantly recognized as Pike. She was Murphy’s height, almost down to the inch, and wore a warm smile as she looked up at our odd party.

“Hi, Miss Mallory, Mister Dresden. Welcome to Greyskull Keep, home of Vox Machina. I--” She was cut off by a voice from within that I couldn’t quite make out, and she rolled her eyes slightly. “I was GETTING to that, Vex. I’m afraid we’re not going to invite you in just yet, but the wards are down.” She stepped back from the doorway, making no motion to invite us inside, but the implication was clear. I’d expected as much, and I stepped inside without hesitation, feeling that same surprisingly strong threshold strip away the edges of my power. Elaine and Murphy followed, then Molly, looking a little uncomfortable. I gave her a reassuring nod as she crossed over into the room. Pike smiled widely.

“Thanks for your trust. We’ve spent a lot of time making this a home, so we just want to be careful with who comes in, you know?”

“I understand,” I responded, smiling back at her. “Impressive wards, by the way. I wouldn’t normally expect a place like this to have much of a threshold to work with in the first place.”

“Oh!” Pike seemed to blush a little, just darkening the brown of her cheeks. “Yeah, that was mostly me and Scanlan. We’re good with wards and that sort of thing. Plus, this isn’t just a base. It’s a home.”

And as I glanced around… wow. She wasn’t kidding.

The main open space of Greyskull Keep was made of the same grey stone as the outside. However, rugs and mats covered most of the floor, and ameture artwork hung on the walls. There were seating areas set up all around, separated slightly by curtains and standing dividers, along with desks and workstations on the walls, and what looked like a mini kitchen setup in one corner. Metal grated staircases curved upwards to a landing lined with what would have once been smaller storage rooms, but each door was decorated in some way, probably unique to whoever stayed in each one. Several members of Vox Machina, as well as a few other young people I didn’t recognize, were scattered around the main area, most of them with their eyes fixed on the four strangers who’d just entered their home. I gave a polite nod to the room at large, trying to look approachable. Some of the eyes turned back to what they were doing, and I looked back at Pike.

“Well, as you know, I’m Harry Dresden. This is my friend Karrin Murphy, and my apprentice, Molly.” Molly gave a little wave, and Pike made a little “o” of surprise.

“Oh, I forgot to introduce myself!” She held out a hand and I took it, feeling the shock of power that meant she was a practitioner. It was strong, as I’d expected, but oddly warm, more like a gentle breeze to my magical senses than the usual electric jolt. She didn’t even react to my touch. “I’m Pike Trickfoot, Vox Machina’s healer, mostly. Let me introduce you to the others.”

As she bounced off towards a circle of mismatched chairs and couches in one corner, I shared a quick glance with Elaine. Elaine had dabbled some in healing, but for her it was still mostly massage therapy with just a touch of magic thrown in. I hadn’t met many people who used magic mostly for healing-- maybe they just weren’t the types to end up on the council. Or maybe Pike had just been talking about her skill as a doctor. Maybe. Or maybe not.


	3. Chapter 3

Vox Machina had clearly been expecting us, because the remaining six members were all gathered in the area Pike led us to. She climbed up to sit next to the huge man I remembered was her adopted brother, and pointed us towards a mostly empty couch, with just the twins sitting on one end. They scooted away to make room for us, both looking slightly wary. Molly seated herself closest to them, and the girl gave her a once over, then a small smile and a sultry wink, causing my apprentice to blush slightly and glance away. The boy’s expression didn’t change. 

We went around giving introductions, and many of the members gave short explanations of their magic. Molly, like I had told her to on the way, took notes. Since Pike had already introduced herself, she started with the man next to her. It seemed to take him a minute to figure out what he was expected to do, but Pike whispered to him and after a moment his face cleared and he stood up, towering over everyone else in the room. 

“M’grog. I can do this.” And he took a deep breath in, squinted his eyes, and GREW. I wouldn’t have thought it possible for him to get any bigger, but somehow he did, rising several feet above me and towering in muscle like a giant or an ogre. “Tha’s it. Lasts… how long, Pike?” 

“About an hour, give or take. He’s also pretty resistant to magic like this. Monsters from the nevernever just bounce right off.” My eyebrows rose slightly, even as I fought to keep my surprise off my face. They were more informed than I’d thought. I had to wonder where this information was coming from.

Up next was Scanlan. I was certain now I’d read him correctly-- lots of power, INCREDIBLE control. I could feel the shields on him just from shaking his hand. Like Molly, he seemed to specialize in wards and illusions, and I got the feeling the two of them would get along. I found myself hoping this whole encounter would work out like our cover story-- Molly and I could learn a lot from them, and I’m certain Elaine and I could teach them quite a bit too.

In Scanlan’s case, the oddest thing appeared to be how he cast magic. He demonstrated for me, hopping up to stand on his chair and pointing at one of the twins. He rolled his hips in a way I could only describe as undulating as he sang, every word infused with his will.

“Oh, Vexy, you’re so fine, you’re so fine you blow my mind hey Vexy! Hey, hey, hey Vexy!” And just like that, I felt the magic flow into her and bend around her, seeming to empower her own, smaller gift with his words.

“I call it inspiration,” Scanlan said, hopping down from his chair. “I learned from some of those stuffy wizard books, but I like to make my magic mine, y’know? It’s no fun just chanting weird incantations when you could be making something new. I just kinda… let it out, and let my magic do what it wants! I have a couple spells that I can do whenever, I like to sing for those too. It just feels more natural.”

Damn. He may have been little and ostentatious, but this guy was powerful. Probably white council material, if he’d wanted to be, but they’d never take that sort of freeform magic and he seemed like the type who’d chafe under the council. Kinda like me. I clapped for him, impressed, and Molly joined me, face a little flushed, though I couldn’t tell if it was from the magic or the little guy’s… questionable dancing choices. She looked like she had a million questions, but she was keeping quiet for now.

Murphy was next around the circle from Scanlan, and she quickly explained that she had no magic.

“I’m vanilla human,” She told them. “I’m more of a physical fighter anyway, but don’t let anyone tell you regular weapons and training can’t be good in a supernatural fight.”

“If anyone says that to her,” I continued, “she’ll beat that wizard’s scrawny ass into next week. I definitely don’t know that from experience.” Murphy elbowed me, and I pretended to grunt in pain, sprawling out against Molly. The twins snickered, and the white haired boy with the long name was watching Murphy with acute interest now.

Elaine had already introduced herself, and I wasn’t about to do any magic in an enclosed environment, so I settled for a more casual introduction.

“I’m sure you’ve been told I’m Harry Dresden. I’m in the phone book under Wizards, like this patent thief over here,” I gestured rudely towards Elaine, “but I did it first, don’t let her tell you differently.” Elaine looked like she wanted to stick out her tongue, but was too polite. I wasn’t, so I stuck out mine at her. 

Molly was up next. She glanced a question at me, and I shrugged. “Why don’t you show them One Woman Rave, Molls?” 

Molly grinned. This was a spell she’d come up with herself, a confusing concoction of visual and auditory illusions that were great for blinding and confusing anything she was trying to fight. Toned down for indoor use, it was a fun way to show off some power while practicing the control we worked for continuously. She stood, slipping her wands out of her belt loops, and started the show. It only took a few seconds for the others to get involved-- Scanlan was immediately beat-boxing along, Grog had lifted a cheering Pike into the air, and even the twins, who’d been acting closed off so far, were grinning and moving to Molly’s rhythm. I took the opportunity to check out the two that I’d been most interested in-- Keyleth, and Percival whatever whatever the third. The redhead seemed pretty into Molly’s display, and was looking at my apprentice with something like awe. Percival was still as quiet as he had been since we’d arrived. As I turned my attention to him, I realized he had already been watching me, his bright blue eyes intense. I quickly jerked my gaze away before it deepened, and out of the corner of my eye saw him reluctantly do the same. 

Keyleth clapped like an excited child as Molly sat down, and Scanlan grinned at her.  
“You’ll have to teach me that one, kid! It’s a winner.” Molly blushed slightly, and I nudged her with my elbow.

“Good work, grasshopper.” She smiled, tucking a strand of purple hair back behind her ear. Next to her, one of the twins leaned over towards us. He spoke with a slight accent that sounded like he might have grown up in England somewhere, but the accent had faded into something slightly more American.

“Our turn then? I’m Vax’ildan, the male twin, and this is my sister, Vex’ahlia. I’m Vax, she’s Vex. You’ll mix it up, of course.” 

Vex and Vax. Hells bells. I nodded emphatically, agreeing with him, and they gave me matching smirks. Vex took over the thread of conversation, her voice a feminine version of her brothers, though still quite deep for a woman.

“We both use mostly weapons, but we have a bit of magic. I’m good at tracking, mostly simple thaumaturgy, and I can mark a foe so I can find it anywhere this side of the nevernever. Vax can mark things too, but when he does it…”

“My daggers do extra damage, and they don’t miss. But only against that one monster. Other than that…” He shrugged, and reached to his belt, pulling a small throwing knife and showing it to me. “Cold steel usually works pretty well when magic doesn’t. Vex’s arrows are made of it too.”

“Smart. It’s good to not rely too heavily on magic. I usually keep a gun on me, although it has to be a pretty old one so it doesn’t jam.”

“That’s something I haven’t quite figured out yet.”

This was a new voice, deep and so completely British I’d almost call it posh, if I wanted to get made fun of. I turned to see Percival standing up from his chair, taking part in the conversation for the first time since we’d arrived. His eyes were bright and a little too focused for me to risk looking at him for long, and he paced quickly over to a nearby desk as he spoke, gathering papers and bits of metal.

“I’ve been trying to find a way to work magic into the gun itself, and it’s worked fairly well so far, but it does increase the chances of a misfire by a significant margin. The ramifications of a misfire can be more severe, as well. Perhaps we can compare notes on the magical aspects, if not the mechanical.” I glanced over at Murphy, my eyebrows creeping upward. 

“Wait wait wait. Are you trying to tell me you’re putting magic… in a gun?” From the couch across from us, Pike giggled, and I saw the twins roll their eyes fondly. 

“Indeed.”

“And you’re expecting that to NOT go kaboom the second you start using magic?”

“Well, I don’t have any magic of my own. And no, of course I expect misfires. I’m just trying to make them slightly less likely, less dangerous, and more quickly fixable when they occur. My weapons may be prototypes in a technical sense, but they’re hardly untested.”

“So you’ve tested them and they… back up,” I said, shaking my head. “You’re saying you’re not a practitioner.”

“I am not.”

Well, that didn’t line up at all. I just stared at him. He shrugged. 

“You can try to sense for it, if you’d like. I’ve had my brushes with the supernatural, but none of the magic you may find on me is mine. Any traces left are… scarring, at this point.” His face seemed to darken slightly at that, and I found myself wondering yet again what kind of trouble these kids were getting into. “Those traces aren’t nearly potent enough for what I’m doing here. Mostly, Keyleth helps me enchant my weapons, and she’s done the same for some of Vax’s daggers and such. She’s astounding, really.” 

I turned my attention back to a blushing Keyleth, who rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly.

“It’s not that big a deal, Percy. It’s just enchanting, and a bit of natural stuff.” He grinned, shaking his head.

“Of course, Kiki. Calling lighting and fire, shapeshifting, putting double enchantments on my gun… no big deal.” Elaine and I met eyes at that. Without even thinking about it, I spoke mind to mind with her, the way we used to as kids.

_She’s powerful. VERY powerful. I was expecting someone like me at her age, all power and no control, but… double enchantments? And shapeshifting-- I only know one other person who can do that, and he’s on the senior council._

I could feel Elaine’s confusion and concern matching mine as she answered in the same fashion.

_And I was expecting someone more like me, when they told me she did enchanting. That’s detail work. I can call lighting, but… It seems like there’s more to her than either of us guessed. Maybe to all of them._

Damn. I almost wish I had a chance to see these kids in action. 

I turned my full attention back to the main conversation just as Pike clapped her hands together.

“Well, unless Keyleth wants to say anything--” Keyleth shook her head, already looking thoroughly embarrassed, “--then I think that’s everyone. Do you have any more questions before you take a look at the curse?”

“Just one, I think,” I said, as casually as I could. “More just idle curiosity, really. When Molly and Murph found you all on the paranet, most of the information said there were eight of you?”

And just like that, the mood in the room dropped. Pike bit her lip. The twins looked at the floor. It was silent for a moment, but for a tiny sniffle from Keyleth, and I suddenly realized the mistake I had made. I let out a long breath, about to apologize for bringing it up at all, when Keyleth finally spoke.

“Ti...Tiberius was… the best at magic. Out of all of us. He studied it for real, not just little tricks or tribal magic. He was going to… he was going to be a wizard, and join the council, once he’d finished his apprenticeship. He was only here for that… his father wanted him to travel the world. He…” Her voice broke, and I saw Percival walk back over to sit next to her. She buried her face in his shoulder. I avoided both their eyes. Pike glanced over toward me, her face soft and sad.

“He’d gone back home to finish his apprenticeship. We didn’t see it happen. We just felt it, somehow. Later, we… we tried to find him, tried to contact his family, and… he’d never made it home. He was waylaid in the nevernever. They found him there, just… frozen.” She shook her head. “I’m sorry. You didn’t need to hear that.”

“No, I’M sorry. It was thoughtless of me to bring it up.”

“You didn’t know.”

“No, but I know the world we live in. I’m sorry, truly.” I felt a hand slip into mine, trembling slightly, and squeeze. Molly. I squeezed back. Vax got up from the couch next to us, and walked over towards Percival and Keyleth. He spoke softly, but just audibly from where I sat.

“I got her, Freddie. You can go back to being a nerd now. Come on, Kiki, let’s go get some water, kay?” Keyleth sniffled and looked up at Vax, taking his hand and allowing herself to be led out of the room. Percival sighed, brushing at the damp spot she’d left on his button down. I frowned as I watched him. “Freddie” hadn’t been a part of any of those long names Murphy said he threw around, which I guess was comforting in a way. Kid had some sense. As if he sensed me watching, he met my eyes again, and again I looked away.

“Mr. Dresden. Could I talk to you in private for a moment?”

“...Sure.” I stood up. “Elaine, could you go with Molly to have a look at whatever information they already have on the curse?” 

“Of course. Scanlan?” The man gave a short, seated bow.

“My pleasure.” 

Murphy glanced at me questioningly. I waved her off, giving her a look I hope conveyed “I’ll tell you everything later,” and followed Percival away from the rest of the group.


	4. Chapter 4

Percival led me out one of the side doors, leaving it ajar, but moving outside and far enough away that anyone inside wouldn’t overhear.

“So. As I’m sure you gathered from that, we are aware of the White Council.”

“I figured as much.”

“And of the Wardens.” I opened my mouth to speak, but he held up a hand. “I know you’re not here in an official capacity, and not all of the others know you’re a Warden. I don’t plan on telling them, unless of course this becomes official business.”

“I haven’t seen anything to encourage me to make it official--”

“You think I can’t hear the ‘yet’ at the end of that sentence?” Percival leaned in, eyes blazing, and I found myself having to look away again. “These people are good people. They don’t need some dark cloaked reaper looking over their shoulders waiting for them to do something wrong, just because he thinks they might have a little too much power.”

“I think you have the wrong impression of me.” I kept my voice very quiet. The look in this boy’s eyes was familiar to me, deeply so, and I needed to tread carefully. “I spent most of my adult life and a portion of my teenage years with that same reaper over my shoulder. Officially. Looking for any excuse to chop off my head. You know about the laws. I broke one. My apprentice broke one. We were both young and in trouble and saw no other way. Someone stood up for me, and I stood up for her.” Percival was still watching me, his eyes wary, but his posture had relaxed somewhat. I sighed, running a hand through my hair. “Hells bells, kid, you’re smart. I know you understand how this group looks from the outside, how easy it would be for one person to make one mistake and take the whole team down with them. Why else would you suspect me? So yes, I came to make sure. I came, rather than let someone like the man who made my life a living hell come first and do the same to more kids who don’t have anyone to stand up for them.”

There was a long pause. Finally, he spoke again, his voice practically a whisper.

“This is my family, Warden Dresden. If you think anything is suspicious, if you have any concerns, if anyone else starts looking into Vox Machina or suspecting them of anything… look at me, first. I swear to you that any trace of darkness you find here comes from me. They have no part of this.”

“What are you talking about?”

Percy’s eyes met mine again, briefly, but this time he was the one to pull away from the impending soulgaze. He let out another long sigh, seeming to make a decision about something. Then, he held out his right hand, slowly rolling up his shirtsleeve as he went.

A wisp of smoke curled from his palm, seeping out of his pale skin and winding around his fingers. He held it out towards me, and I could feel the strangeness of it-- not quite dark, but certainly not light, an alien power that didn’t belong to the boy in front of me, not entirely. As I watched the smoke swirling up his arm, I suddenly became aware of the multitude of thin white lines criss crossing the skin there, too fine to have been inflicted by his own hand.

“Like I said. Scars.” He paused, and though his voice remained just as deep and steady as it had been this whole time, his face suddenly looked young, and broken. “I did not break any of the laws, but I came close. And I came close to losing my soul in the process. Vox Machina saved me from that. This smoke is a magical scar-- a reminder that the forces I was dealing with would have been all too happy to see me kill more than just vampires in a mindless quest for revenge.”

I really hate my job sometimes.

I especially hate my job when it convinces innocent kids they have to spill their worst memories and trauma to me, out of fear that I would go after those they care about.

Man, fuck the Wardens.

“You have no reason to trust me.” I kept my voice very soft, and my hands at my sides, in full view. “You have no reason to believe me, but please understand that I did not come here looking for darkness. You’ve trusted me with a lot here, Percival, so I’ll return the favor.

“When I was a teenager, I killed my mentor due to lack of control. It was self defense, and I did what I had to, but ultimately a person died in flames of my creation. When I see Keyleth and her power, I see myself at her age. In you, I see my apprentice. She warped the minds of her friends in an attempt to save their lives. Her ideals were sound, but the powers she was toying with are addictive. I was worried you wouldn’t have the support she had in her recovery. I didn’t come hoping to catch you in the act, I came hoping I would be wrong. And I was.” I smiled wryly. “I’m sorry that you felt you had to bare your soul to come to this. But believe me when I say this is what I hoped for.”

There was another long pause. Percival did not look up. He simply stared into the smoke still curling from his fingertips, his expression distant.

“I did not break any of the laws.”

“I know--” he cut me off before I could finish.

“I did not break the laws, but I did not do what I did for a good reason. It wasn’t self defense or an idealistic attempt to help my friends. I went into the deal I made expecting to break the laws, and not expecting to come out the other end alive, but at least my enemies would be dead as well. Vox Machina is the only reason that didn’t happen. I did these things, horrible things, just out of--”

“Trauma?” 

This time it was my turn to cut him off, startling him out of his grim reverie. He looked up at me, eyes wide. I shrugged.

“You don’t have to believe me. It took me a while to believe it, myself. Your worst moments don’t define you, kid. The biggest thing that keeps people from recovering, from dark magic use, traumatic experiences, whatever, is not being able to forgive yourself.” 

The kid kept staring at me with that shocked expression. At my last words, his face softened just slightly, and he let out a short, bitter, laugh.

“Forgiveness. I think you’ve been comparing notes with Vex.”

“Hey, your friends know what’s best for you. You say they saved you once. Let them do it again.”

“My request still stands. If anyone comes looking--”

“Then I tell them where they can shove their stupid grey cloaks. The Wardens don’t kill innocents on my watch.”

“This isn’t your jurisdiction.”

“I trust the guy who works this area. He’s not going to let just anyone come stomping in without a damn good reason. Besides, you made it this long with only lil’ ol’ me stopping by. And that’s only because of the paranet, which the curmudgeons on the council pretty much ignore. Dark magic, REAL dark magic, leaves a stain that wizards can sense and follow. Not just a little bit of smoke.”

“Hm.” Percival and I watched as the smoke curled away, drifting into the wind. He tucked his hand back in his pocket. “The awful thing is, that almost makes me angry. Like everything I did and risked, compared to the rest of the world, means nothing. No matter how dark it felt, it wasn’t dark enough to catch anyone’s notice. Not even worth killing me for.”

“Well, we all want to feel like our worst is the the worst the world has to offer. And I could tell you a little something about survivor’s guilt. Once you think you deserve the worst, it’s hard to justify not just… going ahead and doing something to deserve it.” Percival let out a little bark of laughter.

“Well, that’s it. I’m officially no longer the most fucked up person I know.”

“And there it is! The first step!” I gave him a huge, goofy, grin. He just stared at me. I shrugged. “Ah, well. You’ll get it someday.”

“I’m not sure I’ll ever understand you.”

“Join the club. Murphy’s the founding member, so you two should have something to talk about.”

We headed back inside, to see Keyleth back in the main room. She, Vax, Pike, and for some reason Murphy were seated on the floor in a line, each sporting a different hairstyle. Keyleth was weaving flowers into Vax’s long black hair, Vax had done Pike’s up into cute little buns, and Pike was busy creating what looked like hundreds of tiny braids for Murphy. Vex sat nearby, brushing and baby talking to an immensely hairy brown dog whose size very nearly rivaled that of Mouse. Grog had relocated to what looked like a training area in the room’s far corner, and was busy eviscerating a punching bag. Elaine and Molly, I guessed, were probably still off with Scanlan, which didn’t surprise me. The three of us shared the trait of being able to talk magic shop for hours on end, and Scanlan certainly seemed like the type to oblige.

As we drew closer, I began to hear voices from the front door. A surge of magic washed around the room, and I recognized the feeling as similar to when one of my keys was used on my own apartment’s wards. The door opened to reveal four younger girls, being ushered inside by Jarret. The oldest one looked to be in her mid teens, but the way she held herself made her appear much older. Her long brown hair, shot through at the front with two streaks of pure white, was pulled back into a tight ponytail, and she held in front of her a pendant set with a dark grey stone that I assumed was the key. The second girl, with her deeply tanned skin and tousled brown pixie cut, was probably about the same age, though much shorter. Third was a Wednesday Addams looking girl, but without the braids and with a gap in her front teeth, a few years younger than the first two. Finally, with one hand firmly gripped by the oldest girl and the other wrapped around some kind of plush toy, was a girl perhaps six or seven with pale skin and dark brown hair.

Vex stood from her place by the enormous dog, grinning.

“Hey girls, how was school?” 

There was a small chorus of “Good”s and “Fine, thank you,”s, plus an eye roll from pixie cut, before the smallest girl tugged free of the hand she was holding and ran to Vex, shouting in excitement. The two were clearly related, though the coloring was different. The hair train on the floor broke apart as Pike approached the Addams kid (snap, snap) and Vax went over to the girl using his twin as a jungle gym. The girl with the pixie cut dropped a couple instrument cases and her backpack by the door with a loud thump, and looked around. 

“Where’s dad?” 

Pike answered her, pointing towards the back room Scanlan had taken Molly and Elaine into. 

“Workroom. We have some guests helping with some Vox Machina stuff.”

“Great. I didn’t wanna see him anyway.” With a sneer and a quick once over in my direction, she ran off, banging up one of the metal staircases and into one of the rooms. I shared a quick glance with Murphy-- seems like we’d found our “Kaylie Shorthalt.” 

Finally, with a nod to Jarret, the oldest girl closed the door behind her. Percy left my side and approached her, and I immediately saw the family resemblance, not just because of the white hair and serious expressions. Pike finished talking with the gap toothed girl, who headed upstairs much more quietly than Kaylie had, and turned to me.

“This is the only family most of us have, besides my grandpa Wilhand, so we all just stay at Greyskull now. That was my cousin, JB, and Scanlan’s daughter Kaylie who just ran upstairs. The little one is Vex and Vax’s half sister, Velora. And this is--

“Cassandra Von Musel Klossowski De Rolo,” the girl interjected smoothly, turning away from Percival for a moment with her hand outstretched. “Pleased to meet you, Mr…?”

“Dresden,” I said, taking her hand and shaking it. I sensed no magic about her through the touch. “Harry Dresden. I heard about Vox Machina over the paranet, and thought I’d see if I could lend a hand.”

“Well, you’ve succeeded in getting my brother out of his workshop, so that’s certainly a step in the right direction.”

“Cass!”

“Come on, brother, don’t try to tell me you wouldn’t have been in there all day if you hadn’t had guests. You’re such a shut in.”

I couldn’t hold back a laugh, and both siblings turned to look at me. Percival looked frustrated, frazzled in the sort of way only an annoying sibling could make you, and more like a normal teenager than I’d seen him so far.

“Stars and stones, you sound like my brother trying to get me out of my workshop,” I explained, trying to quell the fit of unwizardly giggles still threatening to spill out. The siblings looked at each other, then back at me.

“Well, he can’t be as much of a busybody as Cass.”

“You would be very surprised. I made the mistake of giving him a key to my apartment and now he comes over and threatens me with death by Murphy if he thinks I’ve been working too long.” 

“And I’d do it, too!” Murphy shouted from the floor. I gestured in her direction, giving Percival a “see what I mean?” kind of look. 

Eventually Cassandra drifted upstairs to do homework, and Percival disappeared into a basement level room that could only be his workshop. I went to sit by Murphy, and while Keyleth, Pike, and the twins were distracted playing with Velora I quietly filled her in on what I’d learned from Percy. She was quiet once I’d finished.

“Jesus, Dresden.”

“I know. But the thing is, I believe him. Even if he’s lying, and he did break one of the laws, I think there’s enough people here keeping an eye on him to make sure he never slides back. It’s not worth dragging a kid in front of a council that wants to kill him on simple suspicion, and no one will stand for him like I did for Molly. He barely even has enough magic to make the council take interest.”

“You gonna soulgaze him?”

“It’s not a lie detector, Murph. If he really believes he didn’t break the laws, that’s what I’ll see. Besides, I don’t want to put either of us through something like that. Kid’s had enough of his tragic backstory laid bare to a stranger for one day.”

“Alright. I trust your judgement on this. It’s not my law.” 

“Thanks, Murph.”

There wasn’t much left to do, after that. The place was a home-- a little strange, sure, but it was keeping kids off the streets and there was no way I could see that as a bad thing. Was I still worried? Of course. The world is a horrible, dark, unforgiving place, especially for kids like them. Kids like Molly. Like me and Elaine. But we’d made a start, with the Paranet. Sitting on the couch in Greyskull Keep, it was pretty clear that the world can have light, too. Love.

By the time I opened a Way back to Chicago, late that night… yeah, I’m not ashamed to admit that there was a spring in my step. 

“Y’know Murph, maybe The Who was onto something. The kids ARE alright.”

“Harry?”

“Yeah?”

“Shut up.”

I shut up. But only just long enough to step through the portal, and then I immediately burst into song. I mean, what else was I supposed to do?


End file.
